From the House Democratic Leader:

As debate begins on the GOP's 31st vote to repeal patient protections and put insurance companies back in charge, House Republicans have resurrected their Medi-scare talking points in an attempt to scare seniors and distract from their failure to put forward a jobs agenda and strengthen our economy.

GOP HOT AIR: The health care law is bad for seniors and undermines Medicare, slashing the Medicare program by $500 billion.

FACT: The health care law doesn't make any cuts to seniors' guaranteed Medicare benefits. Instead, it strengthens Medicare - extending the solvency of Medicare by eight years and improving benefits. It achieves savings by cutting waste from Medicare and overpayments to private insurance companies.

Key points:

* The law achieves Medicare savings by cracking down on waste, fraud and abuse and wasteful payments to private insurers including: saving more than $130 billion in overpayments to private insurers, cuts large and unnecessary overpayments to private insurance companies that offer Medicare Advantage plans, eliminates duplicative paperwork, and provides new tools to crack down on waste & fraud in Medicare.

* Reduces prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the 'donut hole' coverage gap by 2020. Already, 5.3 million seniors have saved $3.7 billion on their prescription drugs, an average of $600 per senior.

* Ensures free preventive care under Medicare - eliminating deductibles and copayments for preventive services.